Full Text of HR0906 102nd General Assembly
HR0906 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | HR0906 | | LRB102 28504 MST 40381 r |
|
| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives wish to recognize the life, achievements, | 4 | | prosperous career, and Hall of Fame-worthy credentials of | 5 | | Walter William "Billy" Pierce; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Billy Pierce began his career at age 18 with the | 7 | | Detroit Tigers in 1945 and then played for the Chicago White | 8 | | Sox from 1949 to 1961 before playing his final three seasons | 9 | | with the San Francisco Giants; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Billy Pierce was the Chicago White Sox's star | 11 | | pitcher in the decade from 1952 to 1961 when they posted the | 12 | | third best record in the Major Leagues; by the mid-1950s, the | 13 | | small southpaw stylist, equipped with a pitching bag of tricks | 14 | | that included a devastating fastball, a sharp-breaking curve, | 15 | | a slider, and a change up, was being talked about as one of the | 16 | | top lefties in the sport; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, A seven-time All-Star, Billy Pierce led the | 18 | | American League in complete games three times and led the | 19 | | American League in wins, earned run average, and strikeouts | 20 | | once each; he pitched four one-hitters and seven two-hitters | 21 | | in his career and, on June 27, 1958, came within one batter of | 22 | | becoming the first left-hander in 78 years to throw a perfect |
| | | HR0906 | - 2 - | LRB102 28504 MST 40381 r |
|
| 1 | | game; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, After 14 years on Chicago's South Side, Billy | 3 | | Pierce was traded to the San Francisco Giants on November 30, | 4 | | 1961; with something to prove, he finished 16 and 6 in his | 5 | | first season on the West Coast, helping the Giants franchise | 6 | | capture its first pennant since moving to California; he | 7 | | retired after an 18-year big league career with a 211 and 169 | 8 | | record, 1,999 strikeouts, 193 complete games, 38 shutouts, and | 9 | | a 3.27 ERA; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, In the discussion of the best pitchers in White | 11 | | Sox history, Billy Pierce tops the franchise's all-time list | 12 | | with 1,796 strikeouts, and his 186 wins are fourth behind Hall | 13 | | of Famers Ted Lyons (260), Red Faber (254), and Ed Walsh (195); | 14 | | and | 15 | | WHEREAS, The White Sox retired Billy Pierce's number 19 in | 16 | | 1987 and unveiled a statue in his honor at U.S. Cellular Field | 17 | | in 2007; he was selected to the White Sox All-Century Team in | 18 | | 2000; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Billy Pierce's 1,999 career strikeouts were the | 20 | | fifth most by a left-hander when he retired, and his American | 21 | | League total of 1,842 ranked ninth in league history; he also | 22 | | ranked tenth among left-handers in career wins (211), sixth in |
| | | HR0906 | - 3 - | LRB102 28504 MST 40381 r |
|
| 1 | | games started (432) and games pitched (585), eighth in | 2 | | shutouts (38), and ninth in innings pitched (3,306+2/3), | 3 | | placing him in the top 20 of left-handed starting pitchers in | 4 | | Major League history; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, Billy Pierce's statistics in Innings Pitched, | 6 | | ERA, ERA+, Career Wins, Walks/Hits per Innings Pitched, and | 7 | | Career Strikeouts, among others, compare favorably and, in | 8 | | some cases, exceed those of contemporaries such as Early Wynn, | 9 | | Bob Lemon, Robin Roberts, and Whitey Ford, all of whom have | 10 | | been enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Rule 5 of the Baseball Writers Association of | 12 | | America rules for eligibility provides that eligibility for | 13 | | membership shall be based not only upon the player's record, | 14 | | playing ability, and contributions to the team(s) on which the | 15 | | player played but also on his integrity, sportsmanship, and | 16 | | character; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, Billy Pierce's contributions to society off the | 18 | | field were as significant as those on it, as witnessed by his | 19 | | many public acts, such as raising millions of dollars through | 20 | | Northwestern University's Cancer Research Charity for | 21 | | Children, Shriners Hospitals for Children, and the Chicago | 22 | | Baseball Cancer Charities, as well as serving as a White Sox | 23 | | ambassador visiting children and retirement homes; and
|
| | | HR0906 | - 4 - | LRB102 28504 MST 40381 r |
|
| 1 | | WHEREAS, Despite possessing comparable statistics to | 2 | | players of his era who are members of the National Baseball | 3 | | Hall of Fame in addition to his sterling reputation, Billy | 4 | | Pierce remains on the waiting list to be called to membership | 5 | | in the Hall; therefore, be it
| 6 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 7 | | HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 8 | | we recognize Walter William "Billy" Pierce on his | 9 | | accomplishments and accolades achieved throughout his life; | 10 | | and be it further | 11 | | RESOLVED, That Billy Pierce is deserving of the honor and | 12 | | recognition that accrues to those whose names are called to | 13 | | membership in the National Baseball Hall of Fame; and be it | 14 | | further | 15 | | RESOLVED, That we urge the National Baseball Hall of Fame | 16 | | Golden Days Era committee to vote to enshrine Billy Pierce to | 17 | | his rightful place as a member of the National Baseball Hall of | 18 | | Fame; and be it further
| 19 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 20 | | presented to the family of Billy Pierce and the Chairman of the | 21 | | Board of Directors of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and |
| | | HR0906 | - 5 - | LRB102 28504 MST 40381 r |
|
| 1 | | Museum.
|
|